Crypto or digital tokens should be treated as securities of a special class to which the provisions of existing securities regulations will not apply, CII said in a statement.
Rao, who served as the governor of RBI from 2008 to 2013, said the central bank digital currency also needs robust data protection laws
The RBI had earlier this year announced that it has started work on a central bank digital currency
Meta's current chief of the Messenger division, Stan Chudnovsky, has announced that he will be leaving the company "at some point in Q2 of next year.
Govt is also likely to give crypto holders a deadline to declare assets, say sources
While no official data is available, industry estimates suggest there are some 15-20 mn crypto investors in India, with total crypto holdings of roughly Rs 45,000 cr
Bitcoin rose 1.5% in early Asia on Tuesday, after firming overnight in line with equity markets and other risk assets, but many crypto traders remained on edge after Saturday's sharp and sudden plunge
The RBI has been examining use cases and working out a phased implementation strategy for introduction of CBDC with little or no disruption
Digital asset market capitalisation was nearly $1.5 billion in 2013, and stands at about $3 trillion today
Traders said the weekend fall was connected with the broad move away from riskier assets in traditional markets over worries about the Omicron variant
A mixed US jobs report did little to shake market expectations of a more aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve
Blockchain's promise: Dramatically speeding up transactions
Live news: India's eastern coast braces for a weakened cyclone Jawad; Nirmala Sitharaman says legislation will regulate crypto.
Earlier this week, Sitharaman said the new bill takes into account the rapidly changing dimensions in virtual currency space, and incorporates features of the earlier bill that could not be taken up
Bitcoin was 12% down at 0920 GMT at $47,495
The largest digital token fell as low as $42,296 before paring some of the tumble
Bitcoin plunged 5.5% to $53,435.9 at 22:04 GMT on Friday, losing $3,112.06 from its previous close.
Ambani, who owns Reliance Jio, India's largest mobile service provider, also lent support to blockchain and real time tech to improve financial access